Federal drought declaration covers 62 of 64 Colo. counties

Only Delta and San Juan counties have avoided the disaster of Colorado's drought, according to a federal declaration Tuesday that includes 62 of the state's 64 counties.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack notified Gov. John Hickenlooper that farmers and ranchers in parched counties are qualified for federal emergency loans, based on the extent of their individual losses.

The governor, the Colorado Department of Agriculture and the local USDA Farm Service Agency office worked together to attain the disaster designations.

Colorado's relentless drought began with a weak snowpack that drove river basins across the state into single-digit percentages of their 30-year averages this spring.